Bacon Murder Trial Begins

Kelowna’s most notorious murder case was back in court on Monday. Three men have applied to have their charges dismissed in the 2011 first-degree murder of Jonathan Bacon and the wounding of four other people. The gang slaying shocked the city when Bacon, leader of the Red Scorpions gang, was gunned down outside the Grand Hotel in broad daylight on Aug. 14, 2011.

During the shooting, Hells Angel Larry Amero, Independent Soldiers member James Raich, Leah Hadden-Watts, niece of the Haney Hells Angels president, and another woman were all inside the Porsche SUV and injured in the gunfire.

Leah Hayden-Watts, was permanently paralyzed in the shooting

Jones, McBride and Khun-Khun were arrested in February 2013, a year and a half after the shooting took place. They have remained in custody for over four years. Defence is spending the first week of trial attempting to have the charges dismissed based on a Supreme Court of Canada ruling last summer. The R. v. Jordan case determined that a Supreme Court case should take no longer than 30 months from when charges are laid, barring delays caused by defence and other exceptional circumstances.The voir dire, a trial within a trial, is expected to wrap up this week, but it's unknown when a decision will be made on the matter.